LOCATION GOLDVALE CO
Established Series
Rev. GB-KLS
05/2023
GOLDVALE SERIES
The Goldvale series consists of very deep, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and alluvial fan sediments derived from reddish brown arkosic sandstone and interbedded sandstone and shale. Goldvale soils are on side slopes of alluvial valleys, mountains, hogbacks and homoclinal ridges. Slopes are 3 to 65 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 510 cm and the mean annual temperature is about 6 degrees C.
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine, smectitic, frigid Typic Haplustalfs
TYPICAL PEDON:Goldvale stony coarse sandy loam - woodland. (Colors are for dry soil unless otherwise noted.)
Oi--0 to 5 cm; undecomposed organic material, chiefly needles, bark and twigs.
Oe--5 inches to 10 cm; partially decomposed organic material like that of the overlying horizon.
A--10 to 15 cm; grayish brown (10YR 5/2) stony coarse sandy loam, very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moist; strong fine crumb structure; soft, very friable; 20 percent reddish brown arkosic flagstone; many medium and coarse angular granite sand; slightly acid; clear smooth boundary. (0 to 8 cm thick)
E--15 to 71 cm; pink (5YR 8/3) stony coarse sandy loam, light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) moist; moderate thick platy structure parting to moderate fine subangular blocks and then to fine granules; slightly hard, very friable; vesicular; 20 percent reddish brown flagstones; many medium and coarse angular granite sand; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (20 to 50 cm thick)
E/B--71 to 86 cm; mixed colors including pink (5YR 8/3) and reddish brown (5YR 5/4) stony light sandy clay loam; light reddish brown (5YR 6/3) moist and reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) moist; weak medium subangular blocky structure; very hard, very friable, slightly plastic; horizon consists of nodules and seams of clayey material like that of the underlying horizon embedded in a lighter colored matrix like that of the overlying horizon; 20 percent reddish brown arkose flagstones; many medium and coarse angular granite sand; slightly acid; clear wavy boundary. (10 to 25 cm thick)
Bt--86 to 137 cm; reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) stony coarse sandy clay, reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) moist; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, friable, very sticky, plastic; thick continuous clay films on peds and as coatings and fillings inside root channels and pores; 20 percent reddish brown arkose flagstones; many medium and coarse angular granite sand; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (50 to 100 cm thick)
BC--137 to 175 cm; reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) stony sandy clay loam, reddish brown (2.5YR 4/4) moist; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; extremely hard, friable, slightly plastic; thin patchy clay films on peds and as linings inside some root channels; 25 percent reddish brown arkose flagstones; many medium and coarse angular granite sand; slightly acid; gradual wavy boundary. (15 to 25 cm thick)
C--175 to 200 cm; light reddish brown (2.5YR 6/4) stony coarse sandy loam, reddish brown (2.5YR 5/4) moist; massive; very hard, very friable, 25 percent reddish brown flagstones; many medium and coarse angular granite sand; slightly acid.
TYPE LOCATION:Boulder County, Colorado; approximately 457 meters west and 91 meters south of the E1/4 corner of section 26, T. 2 N., R. 71 W.; Boulder USGS topographic quadrangle; lat. 40 degrees, 6 minutes, 30 seconds N. and long. 105 degrees, 18 minutes, 21 seconds W.; NAD 83
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Mean annual soil temperature--4 to 7 degrees C
Mean summer soil temperature--16 to 17 degrees C
Depth to base of solum--more than 140 cm
Typically, pedons have Oi, Oe, and A horizons, but these are absent in some pedons. Typically, pedons are noncalcareous to depths of more than 150 cm and are noncalcareous in at least the upper 8 cm of the C horizon.
Particle-size control section:
Clay content--35 to 50 percent
Sand content--20 to 55 percent, with a high proportion of medium and coarse angular granite sand. Packing patterns of sand grains within the matrix tend to be cubical, with a high proportion of flat bearing surfaces between grains.
Rock fragment content--15 to 35 percent, mostly reddish-brown flagstones or stones
E horizon
Hue--5YR through 10R
Value--6 through 8 dry, 4 through 7 moist
Chroma--2 through 6 dry or moist
Reaction--pH 5.6 to 7.3
Bt horizon
Hue--5YR through 10R
Value--5 through 7 dry, 4 through 6 moist
Chroma--3 through 6
Texture--sandy clay or clay
Reaction--pH 5.6 to 7.3
C horizon, when present
Hue--5YR through 10R
Texture--coarse sandy loam
Clay content--less than 18 percent
Reaction--pH 5.6 to 7.3
COMPETING SERIES:
Burnac (NM)--have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the control section
Burnson (CO)--have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the control section
Campspass (MT)--have horizons of calcium carbonate accumulation
Goldbug (CO)--have rock fragments of sandstone lithology
Ishkoten (NM)--are moderately deep to paralithic contact
Larkson (CO)--have less than 15 percent rock fragments in the control section
Loghill (CO)--have horizons of calcium carbonate accumulation
McVickers (AZ)--are deep to lithic contact
Siesta (AZ)--are deep to lithic contact
Spud (NM)--formed in material weathered from basalt with modification from underlying sandstone and shale
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landform--side slopes of alluvial valleys, mountains, hogbacks and homoclinal ridges
Elevation--1,750 to 2,625 meters
Slopes--3 to 65 percent
Parent material--colluvium and alluvial fan sediments derived principally from reddish brown arkosic sandstone and interbedded sandstone and shale
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 7 degrees C
Mean annual summer air temperature--15 to 16 degrees C
Mean annual precipitation--457 to 635 mm
Precipitation pattern--peak periods of precipitation occur during the spring and summer months
Frost-free period--90 to 120 days
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:None listed.
DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:Well drained; medium to rapid runoff; slow permeability.
USE AND VEGETATION:Used as native pastureland, for recreation, or for forestry purposes. Principal native vegetation is lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and spruce, with an understory of vaccinium, currant and chokecherry shrubs and a variety of grasses, including Junegrass and buffalo grass.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:Goldvale soils are of moderate extent in the foothills along the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains in central Colorado and in alluvial valleys and mountain sides in southwestern Colorado; MLRAs 48A and 49.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE:Bozeman, Montana
SERIES ESTABLISHED:Boulder Area, Colorado, 1971.
REMARKS:Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Albic horizon--15 to 71 cm (E horizon)
Argillic horizon--86 to 137 cm (Bt horizon)
These soils have transitional E/B or B/E horizons--71 to 86 cm (E/B horizon)
Particle-size control section--86 to 136 cm (most of the Bt horizon)
Goldvale soils have a frigid soil temperature regime and an ustic soil moisture regime with a typic subclass.
Converted to metric, O horizons were updated to start at zero, formatting updated to current standards, and competing series section updated. 05/2021
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.